Dr. Andrew Buzzelli discusses the renovation of the Meen Center for the Niswonger College of Optometry.

Construction crews are moving quickly to transform the building that will house the pioneering Niswonger College of Optometry at Tusculum University when it is accredited.

As soon as fall semester classes ended in December, members of Tusculum’s facilities team descended on the state-of-the-art building to start the conversion of some classrooms and other spaces within the Meen Center to serve the Niswonger College of Optometry.

The first wave of renovation is scheduled to last about seven months, and other work will follow for another 1 ½ years. This activity will benefit not only the Niswonger College of Optometry but also other schools and programs within Tusculum’s College of Health Sciences and the rest of the university.

“We’re completing the work in stages to cause minimum disruption to the undergraduate and graduate programs that use classrooms in the building,” said Dr. Andrew Buzzelli, the Niswonger College of Optometry’s founding dean and executive vice president of the College of Health Sciences. “I am extremely pleased not only with the speed of the construction but also the quality and attention to detail. We’re using our exceptional Tusculum facilities team, which includes many skilled craftsmen, and that makes putting together a project of this size so much easier and at a greatly reduced cost.”

Tusculum’s Board of Trustees authorized the addition of the Niswonger College of Optometry about a year ago based on the recommendation of Dr. James Hurley, Tusculum’s president. In November, the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education determined the College of Optometry had completed the first stage of the accreditation process. The Niswonger College of Optometry has to complete three stages before it can recruit and enroll students.

Tusculum is projecting fall 2020, pending the receipt of preliminary approval for accreditation, to enroll the first class of 70 students in the four-year program. The university would have the 24th college of optometry in the nation.

“We’re committed to stem the tide of ocular disease in Central Appalachia and improve the quality of life for those in this region who have been impacted,” said Dr. James Hurley, Tusculum’s president. “To accomplish this, we’re assembling a team, second to none, that will ensure the Niswonger College of Optometry prepares our students in the most modern approaches to eye care. Tusculum is committed to building the best college of optometry in the country and further expanding the continuum of care in the region.”

The scope of work optometrists perform today is evolving and encompassing more than previously was standard. Besides conducting eye exams and issuing prescriptions for glasses and contacts, optometrists now prescribe eye drops or oral medications for more serious eye conditions.

Dr. Buzzelli said the Niswonger College of Optometry will be the first to train physicians exclusively in the contemporary practice of optometric medicine.

The Meen Center contains 100,000 square feet, and about 50,000 will be designated for the Niswonger College of Optometry, Dr. Buzzelli said. He said the Niswonger College of Optometry will share another 15,000 square feet with other Tusculum programs.

Renovation activity now underway is preparing the areas Tusculum needs for optometric examination labs, an optics lab, an anatomy lab, a primary care ophthalmic surgery suite and exam rooms. Dr. Buzzelli said it is essential for Tusculum to initiate renovation at this stage in the process.

“We’re proceeding with this work because of our pursuit of accreditation,” Dr. Buzzelli said. “One of the main functions of accrediting agencies is to ensure students are enrolled in an appropriate, comprehensive and state-of-the-art professional program. They can only certify a program based on the actions the applicant has already taken. When the accreditation team leaves our campus, they want to know students in the Niswonger College of Optometry can walk onto campus the next day and begin their education.”

In addition to the construction activity, the Niswonger College of Optometry has filled all of its administrative positions. The Niswonger College of Optometry has also already hired the faculty to teach students in the first year, and that roster will include many College of Health Sciences administrators. Other faculty members include community-based vision care providers such as Dr. Donny Reeves, medical physician, and Dr. Scott Gentry, optometric physician, who will continue to see patients in their practices.

In July, the Niswonger College of Optometry will begin the hiring of the next group of faculty members.

“The whole thrust of the College of Health Sciences is to be very efficient and to work as a team,” Dr. Buzzelli said. “Our philosophy is everybody works together, teaches together and learns together. We hire no one solely as a program administrator but rather use that person’s talents across the whole spectrum to support our students and the profession.”

For more information about the Niswonger College of Optometry’s construction, please view a video at https://bit.ly/2sdlYE6.

Information for the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education is: Address: 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141 — telephone: 314-991-4100.

Dr. Gregory S. Moore

A 30-year optometric professional with extensive experience providing medical eye care for the Chicago Cubs, teaching students, running businesses, serving on regulatory boards and conducting research has been named assistant dean for clinics with the Niswonger College of Optometry at Tusculum University.

Dr. Gregory S. Moore, who joined the staff in January, will also serve as the director of clinical and surgical education and will be an associate professor. The Niswonger College of Optometry is seeking accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and learned in November that it successfully completed the first phase of that process.

In his role, Dr. Moore will establish the Niswonger College of Optometry’s clinical education programs with its multiple clinical partners in the region. He will ensure these programs run properly, smoothly and effectively and that the optometrists serving them perform at the highest possible level. The Niswonger College of Optometry plans to have clinics at about 30 sites in the region, including one on Tusculum’s Greeneville campus. Licensed providers will staff them, and students will complete rotations there.

“The Niswonger College of Optometry is going to accelerate the quality of and access to eye care in our region, and Dr. Moore will figure prominently in the development of this transformative program,” said Dr. Andrew Buzzelli, an optometrist and the college’s founding dean.

“He was one of the first members of the optometric profession designing and implementing a surgical curriculum within optometry. His knowledge will be critical as we move through the accreditation process and then teach and train our students when we receive approval. We are very fortunate to have him because he represents cutting-edge skill with the latest primary care optometric surgical procedures.”

Dr. Moore previously collaborated with Dr. Buzzelli and Dr. James Hurley, Tusculum’s president, to create the Kentucky College of Optometry at the University of Pikeville. The two optometrists share the same vision for the optometric profession, and Dr. Moore is pleased with ideas Dr. Buzzelli developed to make students’ clinical training, particularly in optometric medicine, model the role of the modern optometric physician.

He is excited to join the leadership team in the Niswonger College of Optometry’s formative stages.

“Entering on the ground floor of the Niswonger College of Optometry’s development really allows you to play an influential part in building the foundation,” Dr. Moore said. “The curriculum, the integrated clinical training and the hospital-based clinical systems that we’re establishing all combine to give us a program that will be second to none.”

Dr. Moore earned his Doctor of Optometry degree from Southern College of Optometry in Memphis and completed training sessions at a private practice in St. Albans, W.Va., and at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Buckhannon, W.Va. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from West Virginia State University in the Institute community.

Dr. Moore comes to Tusculum from the University of Pikeville, where he served as an assistant professor for three years. He also ran a private practice with locations in Kentucky and West Virginia for 29 years and owned or co-owned a laser eye center for 12 years that attracted patients from 36 states and four countries. Plus, he served as an adjunct professor at the Southern College of Optometry for 14 years.

In the early stages of his career – from 1989-1992 – Dr. Moore was the eye doctor for the Cubs organization.

“As a result of products I developed, which now have U.S. and international patents and pending patents and the success I had with the Cubs’ farm team in Charleston, W.Va., I was named the team eye doctor,” Dr. Moore said. “I provided eye exams for the entire organization, from rookies to major leaguers as well as all the coaching staff and employees of the organization, during spring training. During the season, all eye care issue or emergencies occurring with any player would be sent to my office in West Virginia or a local specialist I would arrange for the player to see.”

This connection to sports led to his involvement in another project that has applicability to the athletic field. In conjunction with the University of Cincinnati as part of a research project that will eventually will include the Tusculum athletic department, he has worked with college athletes suffering from complex traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Moore has made his mark on the profession in other areas. He has 15 years of experience as a board member of the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry, which serves regulatory boards in 66 jurisdictions around the world, and the West Virginia Board of Optometry. Between the two organizations, he has served three terms as president.

In addition, he was one of 22 researchers the National Alliance on Eye and Vision Research invited to Washington in October to introduce their work to congressmen and senators and to encourage them to continue funding the National Institute of Health and the National Eye Institute. His research on complex traumatic brain injury was one of the subjects presented to lawmakers.

Dr. Moore’s numerous professional activities include membership in the American Optometric Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the International Academy of Sport Vision, and the American Society of Optometric Surgeons.

As he pursues the next stage of his career, Dr. Moore is ready to adopt new philosophies and initiatives in the profession that will benefit patients.

“Throughout all of health care, there must be a continual paradigm shift to keep up with science and technology,” Dr. Moore said. “Optometry is not immune to that fact. For example, refractions will always be an integral part of the diagnosis and treatment optometry provides, but new technologies are making that service available on the internet. While they are in their infancy and not very accurate at this point, that will come. Therefore, we need to adapt our thinking and our professional training to take advantage of the improved delivery models information technology and artificial intelligence provide.”

“I look forward to these and other advances that are transforming our profession, all for the betterment of the patients we serve.”

Dr. James Hurley, Tusculum University’s president, cooks pancakes during the President’s Midnight Breakfast.

As the end of the fall semester nears, Tusculum University students are poring over their notes, reviewing their text books and working intently on their computers to obtain the best grades possible in their courses.

Final exams are in full swing at Tusculum’s three locations in East Tennessee. It’s an important time of academic year for students as they progress toward graduation. Naturally, the stress level might be at a high level for some.

Dr. James Hurley, Tusculum’s president, recognized students might need an opportunity to decompress during this period. He called a time out for them to have some fun at a time of day when many students still have plenty of energy. He hosted the President’s Midnight Breakfast, which started at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, and lasted an hour in the university’s cafeteria.

“Our students dedicate an incredible amount of time during the semester and throughout their enrollment at Tusculum to achieve excellent results with their grades,” Dr. Hurley said. “They are also outstanding representatives of our university and embrace our civic arts focus as part of their studies. The breakfast is a great way to celebrate them for their vibrancy and intellect and thank them for helping Tusculum be a first-choice university.”

Dr. Hurley did not merely host the breakfast. He was busy in the kitchen, demonstrating his fine culinary skills by making delicious batches of pancakes. Joining him were members of his executive cabinet and other staff members, who showcased their cooking and serving talent.

When the doors opened, students filled the cafeteria and lined up to pick from a menu of pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausage. The first in line was Sarah Jean White, who said she attended because the food is delicious and she thought the event would be enjoyable. She had her photo taken with Dr. Hurley and was pleased she had a chance to speak with him.

She and John Bivens, who is graduating Saturday, believe the late-night breakfast is a good activity.

“I feel like the way that they do this, it really shows that they support the students,” Bivens said of administrators. “Throughout the whole semester, we work so hard and we put so much effort in and spend all those late nights. It’s these kinds of things that they put on that make it all seem like it’s all worth it – like what we’re doing is really being appreciated.”

The lighthearted atmosphere in the cafeteria gave Dr. Hurley, the cabinet and other staff members another way to connect with the students. As Tusculum’s president, Dr. Hurley has paid considerable attention to the students’ needs and speaks with them regularly.

Cabinet, faculty and staff members also interact with the students and inspire them to achieve their career ambitions.

“Our students will be leaders in the community and will positively impact people’s lives when they graduate,” Dr. Hurley said. “Their final exams are designed to prepare them for this eventual role, and we are confident they will move our region and nation forward. We are proud of them and look forward to their contributions as students and in the next phase of their lives.”